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Trading platform Robinhood has acquired crypto exchange Bitstamp in a $200 million cash deal.
Per a press release, the $200 million cash deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.
Bitstamp's team will "join forces" with Robinhood, in what Robinhood Crypto general manager Johann Kerbrat described as a "strategic combination" that will help the platform "expand our footprint outside of the US and welcome institutional customers to Robinhood."
The acquisition will "significantly accelerate" the U.S. company's global expansion, onboarding the exchange's more than 50 active licenses and registrations, along with its institutional offerings and core spot exchange.
Those institutional offerings include Bitstamp's white label solution Bitstamp-as-a-service, as well as institutional lending and staking.
“The acquisition of Bitstamp is a major step in growing our crypto business," Kerbrat said in a statement accompanying the release.
Bitstamp CEO JB Graftieaux added that, "Bringing Bitstamp's platform and expertise into Robinhood’s ecosystem will give users an enhanced trading experience with a continuing commitment to compliance, security, and customer-centricity."
Last month, Robinhood Crypto became the latest firm to receive a Wells Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), notifying it of impending enforcement action. CEO Vlad Tenev decried the move, accusing the regulator of a "continued attack on crypto" that harms American companies and consumers.
The Robinhood Wells notice is just one of many that's been sent to industry players this year, including Ethereum giant Consensys and Uniswap maker Uniswap Labs. But the regulatory action against Robinhood Crypto is a bit different.
Robinhood isn’t a crypto-native company, but began offering investors Bitcoin and Ethereum through its app in 2018. Over the years, it’s also claimed to grow those offerings cautiously through its crypto arm. The news today of its acquisition of Bitstamp seems to move the firm decidedly into the crypto camp.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.